Why Ecommerce Website Development Never Works out the Way You Plan and What to do About it.

by Laurence Tuck

July 12, 2018

Here’s the deal; eCommerce websites are amazing when they work, but without a solid plan they ultimately always fail or never work out the way you plan. Read our article on eCommerce website development to learn more about the common pitfalls and tips on how to improve your chance of success online in this arena.

Many potential digital shop owners approach us to embark on developing an online store and I tell them up front that it is just as much work as having a ‘brick-and-mortar’ store.

eCommerce website development

In fact it can be even more work as once you have everything set up, you need to find customers. The internet is not just a huge pile of customers waiting to buy your product, regardless of what Google, Facebook and LinkedIn Ad strategies tell you. Internet consumers are just like anyone else and they need to first find, investigate and warm up to your brand before they even start ‘browsing’ through your goods. Then, and especially with online stores, they need to trust your brand – everyone is terrified of getting hoaxed online and losing their hard earned bucks. Drop off on shopping cart pages is higher than any other page; proof that while the shopper is interested and may even add items to their cart, they are hesitant to actually checkout.

Certainly, singular “conversion pages” have a lot of success, but they are linked to massive marketing campaigns driving the traffic to them and brand trust is almost always evident.

Are we saying “don’t go eCommerce!”? Definitely not. We make good money from building online stores. BUT, we are also the first people you will turn to when sales are not what you expected. We want you to be successful online. We want to see your eCommerce site sales soar. We want another feather in our cap to show off with because we build excellent eCommerce websites and customer experiences. We are eCommerce website development specialists.

It just not as easy as you originally believed so we have written this article to prepare, educate and point you in a more probable direction.

So here it is, the famous “short list” with tips and steps on what to do about making a successful online store.

Manage your expectations. You’re probably thinking “I’m going to launch my XYZ product online and be an overnight success!” or “my new ABC idea is so good, why wouldn’t it sell?”. While it is important to remain positive and proactive, its also vital to have clear, well defined sales goals that are planned according to your marketing strategy budget.

Have a SOLID marketing strategy. How are you going to sell items online, considering you may not have done this before. Where are your customers coming from? Is your product even suited for an online audience? Example; think about heavy items and shipping. You need to understand your customer BEFORE you even begin. Having a solid marketing strategy involves social media, mailing lists and adverting budget too. You may also want to get other successful brands to punt your product.

Payments and payment gateways. Is your audience local or international? Local customers want to check out in their own currency ideally. It is one less question they will have at the cart stage. What are the costs of processing transactions. Payment gateways like PayPal and Payfast charge per transaction and also charge a fee to withdraw your earnings.

Find a competent eCommerce Website Developer. You’re going to need these guys. A lot. Make sure you understand the all the costs, sales, ordering and delivery process and also any future ecommerce website developments you could make to streamline your online store. You may be poised for high volume sales and should be looking at inventory management and shipping now in the beginning.

Not many successful ideas come to life without clear, clever insights. Equip yourself with knowledge before embarking on the eCommerce journey and you may find your idea is the next best thing on the internet!

Our developers are highly skilled in all things eCommerce and can make sense of all the jargon for you. Contact us today for help with your online strategy, eCommerce website design and development.